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80-454: The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge ( HZMB ) is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges , an undersea tunnel , and four artificial islands . It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong and Macau with Zhuhai —

160-609: A 1-km (0.62 mi) Scenic Hill Tunnel and a 1.6-km (1.0-mi) at-grade road along the east coast of the Chek Lap Kok . The Zhuhai Link Road starts from Zhuhai-Macao Port Artificial Island, passes through the developed area of Gongbei via a tunnel towards Zhuhai, and connects to three major expressways, namely, the Jing-Zhu Expressway , Guang-Zhu West Expressway and Jiang-Zhu Expressway. Opened in October 2024,

240-444: A 7.8 km (4.8 mi) bridge, an artificial island in the middle of the Øresund strait, and a 4 km (2.5 mi) tunnel nearest to Denmark . A bridge could not be built there for two reasons: height restrictions imposed by adjacent Copenhagen International Airport (the route's path passes the ends of some of the runways; the minimum practical height for a bridge would have interfered with airplanes using those runways) and

320-510: A body operating on consensus that executes powers normally granted to a single officeholder. The 16th Party Congress also saw Li Changchun gain a seat on the PSC without a formally defined portfolio, though he was widely considered to be the "propaganda chief". Huang Ju died in June 2007, becoming the first sitting PSC member to die in office since 1976. His vacancy was not filled ostensibly because it

400-534: A contractor of the Civil Engineering and Development Department for falsifying concrete test results, thus potentially risking the safety of the bridge for public use. In December 2017, a lab technician pleaded guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment for eight months, while the others await sentencing. Hong Kong's Highways Department conducted tests again after the falsified results were exposed and found all test results met safety standards. In April 2018,

480-548: A hard-and-fast rule. Overly showy or high-profile 'campaigning' for the PSC, such as the actions of former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai , were considered detrimental to PSC selection. The Politburo Standing Committee comprises the highest-ranked officials and is the highest political decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party and, by extension, the People's Republic of China. The PSC members are

560-625: A joint study on a transport link between Hong Kong and Pearl River West. To coordinate the project, the Advance Work Coordination Group of HZMB was set up in 2003. Officials from three sides solved issues such as landing points and alignments of the bridge, operation of the Border Crossing Facilities, and project financing. In August 2008, China's central government, the governments of Guangdong , Hong Kong and Macau agreed to finance 42 percent of

640-587: A major city on the Pearl River Delta in China . The HZM Bridge was designed to last for 120 years and cost ¥ 127 billion (US$ 18.8 billion) to build. The cost of constructing the Main Bridge was estimated at ¥51.1 billion (US$ 7.56 billion) funded by bank loans and shared among the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Originally set to be opened to traffic in late 2016, the structure

720-522: A new road would have continued south through Zhuhai before terminating at Macau. Discussions stalled after the Tiananmen Square protests in mid-1989 "unnerved" Wu and other foreign investors, and caused Hopewell's Hong Kong share prices to plunge. The route proposed by Wu was promoted by the Zhuhai government under the name Lingdingyang Bridge . In the mid-1990s, Zhuhai built a bridge between

800-422: A series of straw polls to determine their support for the candidacy of new Politburo and PSC members. These straw polls are not binding and instead reflect the evolving consensus of the group on a new member's candidacy. The Politburo may also conduct a straw poll of all incumbent Central Committee members on the candidacy of new Politburo and PSC members, but this poll is only consultative. The process of selecting

880-605: A tunnel is generally more costly to construct than a bridge. However, navigational considerations at some locations may limit the use of high bridges or drawbridge spans when crossing shipping channels , necessitating the use of a tunnel. Examples of such tunnels include the Downtown Tunnel and Midtown Tunnel under the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia in the United States ,

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960-462: Is currently serving serving his fourth term. Policy views of ambitious aspirants are routinely concealed in order to gain the broadest level of consensus, with Hu Jintao being a prime example. Various theories have been proposed, mostly by academic outside of mainland China, to discern the 'factions' within a Standing Committee (often between "conservatives" and "reformers"), though in practice due to its opaque operations, faction membership has never been

1040-527: Is responsible for convening the meetings of the PSC and decides their agenda. The PSC meets roughly every week, though its meetings are rarely publicized. The membership of the Politburo Standing Committee has ranged from five to nine people, but is currently at seven. All members of the PSC are national-level leaders . As of 2015 , Politburo Standing Committee members receive a monthly salary of approximately US$ 1,833. The following

1120-523: Is something from folklore, and cannot be trusted." In 2002, apart from Hu Jintao, the entire PSC retired and was replaced. Strict age-based retirement instituted in the CCP meant de facto term limits and relatively high turnover, with the vast majority of members serving for one or two terms. Since 1989, the only two PSC members to have served more than three terms on the body has been Hu Jintao, who served for four terms between 1992 and 2012, and Xi Jinping, who

1200-560: Is technically responsible to the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. In Chinese political usage, a "Standing Committee" (常务委员会, Chángwù Wěiyuánhuì ) simply refers to a body that carries out the day-to-day affairs of its parent organ, in this case, the Politburo. "Politburo Standing Committee" is the most commonly used name to refer to the body in English-language media. It is sometimes abbreviated PSC or PBSC (if "Politburo"

1280-556: Is written as "Political Bureau"). It can also be referred to informally as simply the "Standing Committee". In its official English-language press releases, Chinese state media refers to the body by its lengthier, formal name, "The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee". In turn, its members are officially referred to as "Members of Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of

1360-490: The 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party , radical supporters of Mao, Chen Boda , and Kang Sheng , gained seats on the Politburo Standing Committee, and it resumed a somewhat normal functioning. The last years of the Cultural Revolution were dominated by internal chaos. Between 1975 and 1976, PSC members Kang Sheng, Zhou Enlai , Zhu De, and Mao all died. Deng Xiaoping was purged. During this time

1440-604: The General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. According to the party's Constitution, the party's Central Committee elects the Politburo Standing Committee. In practice, however, this is only a formality. The method by which membership is determined has evolved over time. In turn, the Politburo chooses the Politburo Standing Committee through secretive negotiations. The Standing Committee functions as

1520-716: The George Massey Tunnel in Greater Vancouver , Canada , and the Cross-Harbour Tunnel under Victoria Harbour between the twin cities of Victoria and Kowloon in Hong Kong . In other instances, when longer distances are involved, a bridge–tunnel may be less costly and easier to ventilate than a single, lengthy tunnel. This situation may occur when more economical drawbridges are not allowed for one reason or another. For example, in

1600-709: The Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies , rise in the Chinese political system and selection to the Standing Committee depends more on loyalty to powerful patrons than on ability. It was widely believed, for example, that the Standing Committee line-up of the 16th Party Congress included several members who were elevated based on their relationship with outgoing General Secretary Jiang Zemin, including, most notably, Zeng Qinghong , Huang Ju, and Jia Qinglin . Much has been written on

1680-786: The National People's Congress , the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection , the party's top anti-graft body, and the first secretary of the CCP Secretariat have consistently also been members of the Politburo Standing Committee. The portfolios of additional members varied. The Politburo Standing Committee

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1760-761: The U.S. state of Virginia , such crossings include the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel and the Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel , both of which cross the harbor at Hampton Roads , and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel , a 37-kilometer-long (23 mi) structure (including approach highways) that crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay with a combination of bridges and tunnels across two widely separated shipping channels, using four artificial islands built in

1840-663: The 101X bus and the 102X bus from St Paul's and Taipa, or the HZMB Integrated Resort Connection bus from Taipa Ferry Terminal or the Exterior Ferry terminal, connecting with free casino shuttle buses. Since the Hong Kong government imposes significant fees, taxes and administrative paperwork on private vehicle ownership and usage to deal with road congestion, driving a car on the HZMB would incur

1920-606: The 1980s, the PSC was restored as the party's supreme decision-making body. The committee was again organized on the basis of democratic centralism , that is, decisions were to be made based on consensus, and, failing that, decisions are taken by majority vote; once a decision is taken the entire body speaks with one voice. However, the PSC competed with retired party elders (organized as the Central Advisory Commission , though they made most of their decisions informally) for influence. Deng Xiaoping himself bridged

2000-487: The 1980s. Wu stated that he got the idea in 1983 from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel . In 1988 Wu pitched the concept to Guangdong and Beijing officials. He envisaged a link farther north than the current design, beginning at Black Point near Tuen Mun , Hong Kong and crossing the Pearl River estuary via Nei Lingding Island and Qi'ao Island . His proposed bridge would have ended at the Chinese village of Tangjia, and

2080-451: The 29 Standing Committee members inaugurated to the body since 1997, only six individuals have not held regional party chief positions: Li Peng, Wen Jiabao, Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Liu Yunshan, Wang Huning, and Ding Xuexiang; of these, only three – Li Peng, Wen Jiabao, and Wang Huning have never served in a regional leadership role. Age is also key. For instance, since 1989, all Standing Committee members have been at least 50 years old at

2160-520: The 3km long bridge provided alternative access to Taipa Island from the HZMB boundary office. Although the HZMB connects two left-hand traffic (LHT) areas, namely Hong Kong and Macau, the crossing itself is right-hand traffic (RHT), the same as in Zhuhai and other regions of mainland China (the bridge is technically in Zhuhai for most of its length). Thus, drivers from Hong Kong and Macau need to make use of crossing viaducts to switch to RHT upon entering

2240-508: The 4,860-metre-long (15,940 ft) straight section of the undersea tunnel was installed on 12 July 2016. While the final tunnel joint was installed on 2 May 2017. Construction of the Main Bridge, consisting of a viaduct and an undersea tunnel was completed on 6 July 2017. The entire construction project was completed on 6 February 2018. During the construction 19 workers died. The 55-km (34 mi) HZMB consists of three main sections:

2320-769: The B4 shuttle bus from Hong Kong International Airport, the B5 shuttle bus from Sunny Bay MTR station , or the B6 bus from Tung Chung . In addition, all overnight airport buses (NA-prefixed routes) which are operated by Cityflyer or Long Win stops or terminates at the Hong Kong Port. The HZMB Zhuhai Port can be reached from Zhuhai by taxis or the L1 bus which uses historic tourist vehicles, or Line-12, 23, 25 or 3 buses. The HZMB Macau Port can be reached from Macau by taxis or various buses including

2400-705: The Boundary Crossing Facilities (BCF) for both mainland China and Macau in the west, to the Hong Kong Link Road in the east. This section includes a 22.9-km (14.2 mi) bridge construction and a 6.7-km (4.2 mi) immersed tube undersea tunnel that runs between two artificial islands, the Blue Dolphin Island on the west and the White Dolphin Island on the east. The bridge construction crosses

2480-445: The CPC Central Committee". These official forms are rarely used by English-language newspapers outside of mainland China. In official Chinese-language announcements, the most commonly used name for members of the body is Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Zhèngzhìjú Chángwěi (中共中央政治局常委); this is an abbreviation of the much lengthier official title of Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Zhèngzhìjú Chángwù Wěiyuánhuì Wěiyuán (中国共产党中央政治局常务委员会委员). As even

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2560-621: The Communist Party of China , is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Historically it has been composed of five to eleven members, and currently has seven members. Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the Politburo , a larger decision-making body, is not in session. According to the party's constitution ,

2640-519: The Cultural Revolution, the Politburo Standing Committee ceased normal operations, as many of its key members, such as Chinese President Liu Shaoqi and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping , fell out of favour with Chairman Mao. Real power was concentrated in the Cultural Revolution Group , which was nominally reporting to the Politburo Standing Committee but in fact was a separate "centre of authority" that acted mostly on its own accord. At

2720-476: The HZMB from Hong Kong to Zhuhai had been issued. In addition, the number of vehicles permitted to enter Hong Kong and Macau from other regions is subject to a daily quota. In addition, to help compact Macau tackle its road congestion problems, drivers arriving from other regions are strongly encouraged to use a park and ride scheme, leaving their vehicles at a car park on the edge of Macau. A small quota of 300 vehicles are allowed to enter Macau directly. In 2023

2800-549: The HZMB project began on 15 December 2009 on the Chinese side, with the Politburo Standing member and Vice Premier of China Li Keqiang holding a commencement ceremony. Construction of the Hong Kong section of the project began in December 2011 after a delay caused by a legal challenge regarding the environmental impact of the bridge. The last bridge tower was erected on 2 June 2016. The last straighted-element of

2880-466: The HZMB project had experienced a cost overrun of about ¥ 10 billion, blamed on increased labour and material costs, as well as changes to the design and construction schemes. The number of deaths and injuries during the construction project came under scrutiny in Hong Kong. In addition to nine fatalities on the mainland side, more than ten deaths were reported on the Hong Kong side of the construction project, plus between 234 and 600 injuries, depending on

2960-572: The Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) was reported drifting due to an unconventional method, hitherto unused in Hong Kong, for land reclamation using a row of circular steel cells pile-driven into the mud and filled with inert material to form a seawall. The drifting of parts of the reclaimed island allegedly caused a delay in the HZMB project. The Highways Department denied various reports of movement up to 20 metres (66 ft) but admitted that parts of

3040-568: The Hong Kong side. We don't even know what is happening in China. I suppose the situation could be 10 times worse than that in Hong Kong." He said that the Hong Kong Government had a responsibility to consider worker safety on the Chinese side. In 2017, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested 21 employees (2 senior executives, 14 laboratory technicians, and 5 laboratory assistants) of Jacobs China Limited,

3120-638: The Main Bridge (29.6 km or 18.4 mi) in the middle of the Pearl River estuary, the Hong Kong Link Road (12 km or 7.5 mi) in the east and the Zhuhai Link Road (13.4 km or 8.3 mi) in the west of the estuary. The Main Bridge, the largest part of the HZMB project, is a bridge-tunnel system constructed by the mainland Chinese authorities. It connects Zhuhai-Macao Port Artificial Island , an artificial island housing

3200-401: The PSC occurred. At the 14th Party Congress in 1992, seven people – Jiang, Li Peng, Qiao Shi , Li Ruihuan, Zhu Rongji , Liu Huaqing , and Hu Jintao – were named to the Standing Committee, this arrangement remained unchanged until the regularly scheduled 15th Party Congress in 1997, where Qiao Shi and Liu Huaqing retired and were replaced by Wei Jianxing and Li Lanqing , showing

3280-477: The PSC, notably Premier Li Peng . In the aftermath, Zhao and Hu Qili were removed from the PSC at the Fourth Plenum in 1989, largely by fiat of Deng and the elders rather than institutional procedure, to be replaced by Jiang Zemin and Li Ruihuan . The operation of the Standing Committee has remained largely stable since Tiananmen in 1989. The 1989 Plenum was the last occasion where a major reshuffle of

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3360-467: The Party's Central Committee. It was composed of the top leadership figures of the larger Political Bureau (i.e., the Politburo ). Unlike most other Communist parties in the world modeled after the party of Lenin, the CCP formed a Standing Committee because the Politburo (normally the highest organ in a communist party) was considered too large and unwieldy to make decisions effectively. In the early days of

3440-423: The Pearl River estuary with three cable-stayed bridges spanning between 280 and 460 metres (920 and 1,510 ft), allowing shipping traffic to pass underneath. Administered under Highways Department of HKSAR , the Hong Kong Link Road connects the main bridge-tunnel to an artificial island housing the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF). This section includes a 9.4-km (5.8 mi) bridge construction,

3520-459: The Politburo and the Standing Committee. The PSC is theoretically responsible to the Politburo, which is in turn responsible to the larger Central Committee. In practice, the Standing Committee is supreme over its parent bodies. Additionally, because China is a one-party state, Standing Committee decisions de facto have the force of law. Its membership is closely watched by both the national media as well as political watchers abroad. Historically,

3600-418: The Standing Committee was expanded from seven to nine members. Some political observers speculated that the expansion was done in order to stack the new Standing Committee with loyalists of Jiang Zemin, though this characterization has been disputed. During Hu Jintao's term as General Secretary (2002–2012), the PSC could be understood as a "leadership collective" or a "joint presidency"; that is, essentially

3680-420: The Zhuhai mainland and Qi'ao Island that was intended as the first phase of this route, though the full scheme had not been approved by either the Chinese or Hong Kong governments at the time. China's central government showed support for this project on 30 December 1997. The new Hong Kong government was reluctant, stating that it was still awaiting cross-border traffic study results, and Hong Kong media questioned

3760-432: The active PSC members to attend. Wang and Zhang were both arrested at the meeting and accused of "counter-revolutionary crimes". Thereafter, only Ye and Hua continued their official duties. A functioning PSC was not restored until 1977. After taking power in 1978, one of the goals of Deng Xiaoping was to strengthen the power of the party and institutionalize bodies such as the Politburo and its Standing Committee. For much of

3840-504: The bay as portals. Tunnels had to be used instead of drawbridges because the waterways they cross are critical to military naval operations ( Naval Station Norfolk is nearby, and Chesapeake Bay provides access to the Potomac River and thus to Washington, DC ) and could not afford to be blocked off by a bridge collapse in the event of disaster or war. Another example is the Øresund Bridge , connecting Sweden and Denmark . It has

3920-591: The bay—which is the longest underwater tunnel for cars in the world. Drawbridges were impractical here because Tokyo Bay is too active a sea lane. The longest crossing on the Yangtze River in China is a tunnel-bridge-bridge complex, consisting of the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel , Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge (one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world ), Chongming–Qidong Yangtze River Bridge and connecting viaducts at

4000-548: The body lost any semblance of a functioning policy-making or executive organ, and it met only on an ad hoc basis. By Mao's death in September 1976, the only members who still attended meetings were Hua Guofeng , Zhang Chunqiao , Wang Hongwen , and Ye Jianying , with Zhang and Wang being members of the Gang of Four . On 6 October, Hua Guofeng called a PSC meeting ostensibly to discuss Mao's legacy and memorial arrangements, inviting

4080-473: The bridge had been a waste of taxpayers' money due to the restrictive criteria to be met and large amount of administrative paperwork needed in order to use the bridge with their own vehicle. Consequently an average of only 8,900 vehicles per day have used the bridge in 2023. This is a huge difference compared to the similar Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link where over 3 million vehicles have used the bridge alone in its first month of opening. The artificial island housing

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4160-771: The bridge, and back to LHT upon leaving the bridge when they are back to Hong Kong and Macau. Traffic between Zhuhai and the bridge requires no left-right conversion as they are both RHT. The HZMBus shuttle bus service (colloquially referred as the "golden buses") runs 24 hours a day with bus departures as frequent as every five minutes. The journey across the HZMB takes about 40 minutes. The HZMB Hong Kong Port can be reached from Hong Kong by taxi or various buses including Cityflyer airport routes A10, A11, A12, A17, A21, A22, A23, A25, A26, A28 and A29, Long Win Bus airport routes A30, A31, A32, A33X, A34, A36, A37, A38, A41, A41P, A42, A43, A46 and A47X, NLB airport route A35, Green Minibus route 901,

4240-418: The bridge. The dolphins found near waters of Lantau were worst hit with numbers dropping by 60 percent between April 2015 and March 2016. Bridge%E2%80%93tunnel Bridge–tunnels are a form of fixed link or fixed crossing which replaces ferry service. Fixed links are often, but not necessarily, intercontinental links between continents or transoceanic links to offshore islands. For water crossings,

4320-473: The center of political power in China. Organizationally below them are the Politburo, and then the Central Committee. According to the Party Constitution, the party's Central Committee elects the Politburo Standing Committee during a plenary session. According to the party's constitution , the General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the PSC. The General Secretary

4400-546: The divide between Princelings and the Tuanpai ( Youth League faction) between the 16th and 18th Congresses, though it is not precisely known to what extent factional identity played in the selection of PSC members. Seniority also played an important role. It was established convention that a member of the PSC must have served for at least one term on the Politburo prior to entry to the PSC. However, this "rule" had been broken several times by those destined for party leader or

4480-411: The dolosse were designed to be submerged and the design was working as intended. Director of Highways Department Daniel Chung denied on 8 April 2018 that the breakwater components had been washed away by waves. Subsequent aerial footage posted online showed a section of the dolosse breakwater completely underwater. Civil engineer So Yiu-kwan told Hong Kong media on 12 April 2018 that the water level, at

4560-631: The environmental impact of the project with regard to air pollution, traffic and marine life. In December 2001 the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a motion urging the Administration to develop the logistics industry including the construction of a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. In September 2002, the China/Hong Kong Conference on Co-ordination of Major Infrastructure Projects agreed to

4640-567: The epicenter of the CCP's power and leadership, and its membership has ranged from five to nine people. During the Mao Zedong era, Mao himself selected and expelled members, while during the Deng Xiaoping era consultations among party elders on the Central Advisory Commission determined membership. Since the 1990s, Politburo membership has been determined through deliberations and straw polls by incumbent and retired members of both

4720-564: The first signs that the PSC would become a term-based body operating on a fixed schedule. Liu Huaqing was also the last PSC member with a military background. In 1999, Vice President Hu Jintao also became Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission , as he was being groomed to succeed Jiang. This was the first time Vice President had occupied the post of Vice Chairman of the CMC. At the 16th Party Congress held in 2002,

4800-560: The new Politburo and PSC begins with a closed door session of the incumbent PSC at Beidaihe in the last summer before the Party Congress convenes in the fall. The list of Politburo and PSC candidates for the Central Committee to formally confirm is usually complete several weeks before the Party Congress. According to informed academic observers such as Cheng Li, a scholar at Brookings Institution , and Susan Shirk of

4880-418: The officially abbreviated terminology may still be too lengthy and unwieldy, some media outlets refer to PSC members as Zhèngzhìjú Chángwěi (政治局常委) or simply Chángwěi (常委). However, note that without any context, Changwei may still be an ambiguous term, as provincial and local party committees all have a Standing Committee, the members of which can also be known as Changwei . The first Standing Committee

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4960-646: The perennial threat of ice (a bridge's columns would have encouraged ice dams which could block the strait). The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line is a bridge–tunnel combination across Tokyo Bay in Japan . It connects the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture with the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture . With an overall length of 14 km (8.7 mi), it includes a 4.4 km (2.7 mi) bridge and 9.6 km (6.0 mi) tunnel underneath

5040-511: The permit/quota system relaxed further, allowing more Hong Kong and Macau vehicles to enter Guangdong Province via the Northbound Travel scheme. A similar Southbound Travel scheme is planned for 2025. The HZMB links three major cities—Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Macau—which are geographically close but separated by water. With the bridge in place, travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong was cut down from about 4 hours to 30 minutes on

5120-409: The premiership, most notably with Zhu Rongji and Hu Jintao in 1992, and Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping in 2007. Jiang Zemin was also in the middle of serving out his first term on the Politburo before he was suddenly made General Secretary and thus a member of the PSC in 1989. Since the late 1990s, nearly all PSC members have experience as a party chief of a province or a direct-controlled municipality. Of

5200-467: The public and media raised questions over the integrity of the seawalls protecting the artificial islands at both ends of the undersea tunnel. In footage taken by drone users and mariners, the dolosse installed at the edges of the artificial islands appear to have dislodged. Some civil engineers suggested that there was an error in design. In dismissing the safety concerns, the HZMB Authority said

5280-500: The reclaimed land had moved "up to six or seven metres", claiming that some movement was expected and safety had not been jeopardised. Mainland contractors also reportedly had difficulty constructing immersed tubes for their section of the project, with the director of the Guangdong National Development and Reform Commission stating that 2020 would be a difficult target to meet. By 2017, the Main Bridge of

5360-587: The river's mouth in Shanghai . This fixed link carries the G40 Shanghai–Xi'an Expressway from the north bank to the south bank via two islands and is about 65 km (40 mi) in total length. Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China The Politburo Standing Committee ( PSC ), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of

5440-408: The road. The HZMB project is part of a Beijing -driven strategy to create an economic hub and promote the economic development of the whole area of the Pearl River Delta , which is also known as Greater Bay Area. Hoping to leverage the bridge and create an economic zone linking the three cities, Zhuhai's Hengqin area was designated as a free trade zone in 2015. Some residents have complained that

5520-420: The role of the PSC has varied and evolved. During the Cultural Revolution , for example, the PSC had little power. The membership of the PSC is strictly ranked in protocol sequence . Historically, the General Secretary (or Party Chairman ) has been ranked first; the rankings of other leaders have varied over time. Since the 1990s, the General Secretary, President, Premier, first-ranked Vice Premier, Chairman of

5600-479: The rule of qi-shang, ba-xia (七上八下; lit. "seven up, eight down"), referring to the fact that if a PSC member is 68 or older at the time of a party congress, he must retire, but if he is 67 or younger, he may still enter the committee. Recently, however, doubt has been cast over this "rule". A senior party cadre named Deng Maosheng, in a statement to state-run news agency Xinhua in October 2016, stated that "The strict boundaries of 'seven up, eight down' don’t exist. This

5680-470: The same restrictions as current cross-border traffic. These include applying for separate driving licenses for both Hong Kong and mainland China, a Hong Kong Closed Road Permit for cross-boundary vehicles, and an Approval Notice from the Guangdong Public Security Bureau. Vehicle owners also need to ensure they have the appropriate insurance coverage for the regions they are travelling to. By the end of 2017 only 10,000 permits for private vehicles to drive across

5760-732: The source. In April 2017, the Construction Site Workers General Union, the Labour Party and the Confederation of Trade Unions demonstrated at the Central Government Complex , demanding the government take action. Lawmaker Fernando Cheung also expressed concern over the unknown death toll on the Chinese side of the project, speculating: "the project is known as the 'bridge of blood and tears' and we are only talking about

5840-401: The time of their appointment. Hu Jintao was 50 upon his appointment to the PSC at the 14th Party Congress in 1992. Xi Jinping was 54 and Li Keqiang was 52 at their appointment to the PSC at the 17th Party Congress in 2007. At the same time, since the 16th Party Congress in 2002, PSC members who were 68 or older at the time of a Party Congress have retired without exception. This has been known as

5920-401: The time the photos were taken, was about 1.74 mPD (metres above Principal Datum), but the maximum water level could reach 2.7 mPD. He said the dolosse would offer no wave protection if entirely submerged, and further alleged that they had been installed backwards. Conservationists at WWF Hong Kong blamed the construction of the HZMB for the falling number of white dolphins in the waters near

6000-484: The total costs. The remaining 58% consisted of loans (approximately ¥ 22 billion or US$ 3.23 billion) from the Bank of China . In March 2009, it was further reported that China's central government, Hong Kong and Macau agreed to finance 22 percent of the total costs. The remaining 78 percent consisted of loans (approximately ¥ 57.3 billion or US$ 8.4 billion) from a consortium of banks led by Bank of China . Construction of

6080-443: The two bodies, and his informal clout translated to great political power personally. In 1987, Deng and other party elders ousted then General Secretary Hu Yaobang from the PSC, replacing him with Zhao Ziyang . In 1989, Deng and various party elders ordered the military to intervene in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests without gaining the consensus of the PSC. Zhao was opposed to declaring martial law and broke with other members of

6160-628: The vice-president. The positions of executive secretary of the Secretariat and that of "propaganda chief" were consolidated into one person, Liu Yunshan . Selection of members is believed to be largely the result of high-level deliberations among incumbent members of the party's Politburo and PSC as well as retired PSC members. Prospective candidates for membership in the PSC typically rely on individual members of this high level group to act as their patrons. The current and former Politburo members conduct several rounds of deliberations interspersed with

6240-403: Was completed on 6 February 2018 and journalists were subsequently taken for a ride over the bridge. On 24 October 2018 the HZMB was opened to the public after its inauguration a day earlier by Chinese leader Xi Jinping . Hopewell Holdings founder and then-managing director Gordon Wu proposed the concept of a bridge-tunnel linking Mainland China , British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau in

6320-565: Was formed in July 1928, at a meeting of the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . Between January 1934 and the 1st plenary session of the 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1956, the Standing Committee was replaced by the Central Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party . During the early history of the CCP it was seen as the highest central body that was intended to carry out day-to-day work of

6400-472: Was only a few months preceding a Party Congress, making the body operate temporarily with an eight-member structure. The 17th Party Congress maintained roughly the same structure as the 16th. At the 18th Party Congress held in 2012, membership of the PSC was yet again reduced to seven members. The head of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission did not feature in the new Standing Committee, neither did

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